Rockstar Games, Grand Theft Auto Cleared In Strip Club Suit

A judge has cleared Rockstar Games, makers of the controversial video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, in a case involving the owners of Play Pen, a Los Angeles strip club, who had alleged the strip club in the video game, Pig Pen, violated the club’s tradmarks.

U.S. District judge Margaret Marrow ruled that the “defendants’ use of the Play Pen trade dress and trademark bears some artistic relevance to the game, and does not explicitly mislead consumers as to the source or content of the game.”

As FishbowlLA notes, Rockstar Games can breath easier  for now. Bully, Rockstar’s controversial school-based game, is on schedule for 2006 release.